Masters of War (audio story)

Masters of War was the eighth Doctor Who Unbound audio story produced by Big Finish Productions.

Serving as a loose sequel to the second Unbound story, Sympathy for the Devil, this story saw David Warner reprising his role as the Unbound Doctor alongside Nicholas Courtney as the Unbound Universe's version of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. Also featured in this story were Terry Molloy as the Unbound Universe's Davros, and Nicholas Briggs as the Unbound Universe's Daleks.

Narratively, this story is set decades after an alternative version of the creation of the Daleks free of the Doctor's presence, in contrast to Genesis of the Daleks' depiction of the creation of the N-Space Daleks. References are also made to the Unbound Universe's version of the events of The Daleks, refered to as the "Great Siege".

Production-wise, this story was double the length of the previous Unbound stories, being 2 CDs in length, as opposed to 1.

The Unbound Doctor would later appear alongside Bernice Summerfield in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, starting with the third volume, The Unbound Universe.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor and his travelling companion, retired army officer Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, take a random trip in the TARDIS - and land on the planet Skaro. The Doctor helped the Thals to defeat the Daleks years ago, so he is surprised to find the Thal city under Dalek occupation. He determines to help them again, but what is the Daleks' purpose in keeping the Thals alive? Does it have anything to do with the Daleks' mythical creator, named in their teachings as Davros?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

• The Doctor - David Warner
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
• Davros - Terry Molloy
• The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
• Nadel - Amy Pemberton
• Gillen - Sarah Douglas
• Delt - Jeremy James
• Toloc - Christopher Heywood

Uncredited[[edit] | [edit source]]

• Quatch - Jeremy James, Jason Haigh-Ellery

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

• Cover Art - Alex Mallinson
• Director - Jason Haigh-Ellery
• Executive Producers - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
• Music and Sound Design - Martin Johnson
• Producer - David Richardson
• Script Editor - Alan Barnes
• Writer - Eddie Robson
• Daleks, Davros and Thals created by Terry Nation

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

• The Doctor uses a sonic screwdriver at one point.
• Alistair gets food from the TARDIS' food machine.
• The Quatch are from another dimension.
• The Quatch Empire has a significant foothold in the same region of space as Skaro.
• The Daleks mobilise several saucers to attack the Quatch.
• The Daleks' gunsticks are detachable and can be fired independently of them.
• Nadel has bipolar disorder.
• Davros created two species of Daleks at the end of the Kaled-Thal War.
  • One species of Daleks, "the Renegades", were designed to be merciless and unquestioning of their racial superiority to alien species. They attempted to kill Davros when he created them, before abandoning him in favour of conquering the universe. The Doctor and Alistair have both fought these Daleks before, with Alistair having fought against some on Earth in 1972.
  • The second species of Daleks were created with an understanding of pity and mercy. They were abandoned by Davros after he came to believe that they could never be strong, loyal and intelligent all at once. These Daleks decided to search for Davros after he abandoned them, before choosing to return to Skaro upon learning of the Quatch and their plans to conquer the planet. The Doctor notes that he has not encountered these Daleks before.
• The Daleks plan to transform the Thals into Daleks to fight against the Quatch.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

• This audio drama was released on 1 December 2008.^[1]
• This story was recorded on 11 & 12 October 2007 at the Moat Studios.^[2]
• This story had the working title of Engines of Destruction.^[2]
• The Dalek/Thal war being caused by an outside alien race, and Daleks being capable of coexisting with the Thals, were elements dropped from Terry Nation's original proposal for TV: The Daleks.^[3]
• The Kaled-Thal War (the Unbound Universe's equivalent to the Thousand Year War), and Davros' history are different to their N-Space versions; most notably, the Kaled-Thal War was considerably shorter than a thousand years. The Quatch Empire's role in igniting the war - and the Quatch's presence in the Unbound Universe - are not related to any of the Unbound Doctor's actions, unlike the Fourth Doctor and the creation of the Daleks of N-Space in Genesis of the Daleks.
• This would be the final Big Finish audio drama to feature Davros in any way until The Curse of Davros in January 2012.
• This is the only story in a performed medium to feature both the Brigadier and Davros, although in this story, both are the Unbound Universe's versions of the two characters, rather than their N-Space versions.
• Alistair mentions having fought three Daleks on Earth in 1972. Indeed, Day of the Daleks featured only three Dalek props, a Gold Dalek and two subordinate Grey Daleks, supported by a group of Ogrons.
• The story was reissued in the audio anthology Unbound: 1-8 Collected in September 2022.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

• The Thals remember their liberation from the Daleks during the "Great Siege", led by the Doctor, although they initially believe this to merely be a legend. A very similar event occurred on the Skaro of N-Space. (TV: The Daleks)
• Alistair fought three Daleks on Earth in 1972. In N-Space, a similar battle also occurred. (TV: Day of the Daleks)

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

• Official Masters of War page at bigfinish.com
• Masters of War at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• DisContinuity for Masters of War at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]